Maria Tecla Atemisia Montessori was one of the most famous women of the previous century. An outstanding physician and researcher, she gave rise to a specific philosophy of education which was named after her. Additionally, she also contributed to the evolution of scientific pedagogy greatly. The ideas and approaches suggested by her are still used in a number of private schools and establishments.
She was born on August 31 1870 in Chiaravalle, Italy. Maria was brought up in a friendly family and had close relations’ with her parents. Besides, they had to go to Rome and she entered the public elementary school. At the age of 13 she entered secondary technical school Regia Scuola Tecnica Michelangelo Bounarroti and studied a number of sciences like arithmetic, algebra, geometry, history, etc. (Maria Montessori Biography, 2016). Maria Montessori was a good student and had excellent grades. Later on, being supported by her mother, Montessori went on to graduate from the medical school of the University of Rome in 1986.
She became the first female doctor in Italy ever (Maria Montessori Biography, 2016). Maria decided to work in the sphere of pediatrics and psychiatry. This choice predetermined the whole of her life and career. She had to work with many poor children who had problems with upbringing. That is why she created her own approach to them. Her investigations of early child development resulted in the appearance of the brand new method that implied encouragement of childrens creativity and the creation of a beneficial atmosphere.
Montessori was focused on the exploration of the method that should mind the childs peculiarities and create an environment that could promote his/her evolution. Yet, her approach stated that a child should be given great attention and all his/her peculiarities should be considered important. It will obviously help to guarantee an individuals evolution and contribute to the great positive outcomes.
Moreover, any child should be placed in a certain prepared environment that will assure that all his/her the most important needs will be fulfilled. This environment is extremely crucial for the work of any educator as it creates the background for the majority of the procedures and contributes to the increased efficiency of the methods used in the educational process. Finally, according to Montessori teachers should remain constantly alert to the direction each child is heading and actively work to help them become successful (The Montessori Teacher and Her Role: Learning More About The Method, n.d.).
Besides, Montessori distinguishes five main areas that should be given special attention in terms of every classroom. These are practical life skills, sensorial activities, language, mathematics, and culture (Five Montessori Focus Areas, n.d). All these spheres are extremely vital for the evolution of every child. The first sphere is centered around the fact that children should be equipped with daily practical skills. These activities could promote childrens development so that they could perform the most important activities.
Furthermore, the sensorial sphere is crucial for every child as he/she perceives the world through all senses. That is why the materials used in the classroom should be aimed at the gradual improvement of these senses. The sphere of language is essential for every child and Montessori states that children should be taught basic language skills through specific activities. The researcher also suggests a certain method that helps children to learn the main concepts of mathematics. Finally, the cultural sphere provides the basis for children to learn about the essential cultural patterns.
The sphere of practical life consists of four main areas which are care of self, care of the environment, grace and courtesy, and control of movement (Five Montessori Focus Areas, n.d). These four fields are extremely important for any child as they predetermine the way he/she evolves. Being a physician, Montessori knows perfectly that a childs development is a complicated process that is impacted by a number of crucial factors.
For this reason, all these four aspects are significant. For instance, the care of self implies dressing, washing, food preparation, etc. All these functions are needed for a child to be able to act independently and perform the most important functions without the help of adults. When a child is explained how to wash himself/herself, he/she obtains the important knowledge about the skills that will help him/her to survive.
Yet, Montessori is sure that every sphere is crucial for a child and there are certain sensitive periods for different skills and activities. For this reason, it is very important to guarantee proper stimulation in the most important periods of time. For instance, when entering Montessori preschool around the age of three, child enjoys doing various activities and help adults with their daily routine (Five Montessori Focus Areas, n.d).
For this reason, practical life materials are essential for every child at this very stage of his/her development. Practical life activities provide an opportunity to enter the world of daily routine by performing the most important actions. In these regards, their main direct aim is to guarantee the acquisition of the most important skills that will help a child in his/her everyday life. Furthermore, they should also promote a childs general development and assure his/her becoming an active member of society.
When working on her unique approach, Montessori elaborated on the concept of the spiritual embryo which is often considered central for her method. In general, the concept means that every individual goes through two successive embryonic stages (Hilson, 1982). The first one lasts from conception to birth when the second one from birth to three years. This stage was called spiritual embryo and considered to be the most crucial for the childs evolution. During this period of time, all important mental skills and abilities are formed.
That is why, special attention should be given to the evolution of an individual. Additionally, there are the concepts of horme and mneme which could be related to this sphere. The first term is used to describe all purposive behaviors of any individual (Hilson, 1982). It is extremely significant for the idea of the spiritual embryo as it tends to describe the set of persons qualities and desires that guarantees his/her evolution. The concept of mneme is also often referred to the above-mentioned conception. It is accepted as a certain external-to-internal experience of an individual (Hilson, 1982). These notions are vital for the better understanding of the main peculiarities of the childs evolution.
Maria Montessori is sure that when a child is born he/she knows nothing about this world and does not possess any skills needed to survive (Maria Montessori Biography, 2016). However, he/she has the unique ability to cognize the surrounding environment and acquire the data needed for his/her efficient functioning and evolution. Besides, Montessori introduces the term absorbent mind which is used to characterize children of this very age. It is used to define their possibility to absorb the information unconsciously (Hendron, 2011).
One should realize the great significance of this period of time as it creates the basis for the further childs development. Therefore, Montessori also introduces the term sensitive period that means a certain block of time in the childs life which is characterized by the childs great attention to one certain peculiarity of his/her environment when other are ignored (What is the absorbent mind & sensitive periods? n.d.). That is why it is important to emphasize this aspect and introduce activities that could help to work with it.
Developing her unique approach, Montessori also tends to create scientific rationale for her theories. In this regards, she suggests the idea of normalization which becomes central for her study. Yet, according to Montessori, the term normalization has a specialized meaning. She does not use it to describe typical or average behavior.
However, she prefers to employ the term to show a unique process that could be observed in the process of a child development. It helps to evaluate a phenomenon when a child is allowed freedom in the environment which is created to fit the needs of an individual and assure his/her stable evolution (The Process of Normalization, n.d.). That is why, she assumes normalization the most important single result of the whole work. A normalized child is an individual who evolves in accordance with the most important factors suggested by Montessori in her numerous works.
When speaking about Montessoris ideas and her approach to upbringing, one could admit the great significance given to such phenomena as movement, order, repetition and the impact they might have on a persons evolution. However, she is not the first to emphasize these categories. The fact is that philosophy tends to accept them as the most important notions that determine peoples life (The Montessori Teacher and Her Role: Learning More About The Method, n.d.). Movement is taken as the key to the beneficial development and comprehensive evolution. Yet, it is crucial to assure the needed order and a number of repetitions of certain actions to contribute to an individuals growth. For this reason any educator should give the great attention to these aspects.
It is obvious that the concept of discipline is crucial for any teaching process. Defying the term, it means a set of rules and demands that limits a certain persons activity and guarantees his/her adherence to the accepted behavioral patterns. Discipline is crucial if an educator wants to obtain the positive outcomes. In this regard, he/she has to assure that all pupils will follow the accepted rules. Besides, one should not confuse discipline and self-discipline. The last one means an ability of a person to perform the actions needed for some positive result even if the character of these actions is not pleasant for him/her. Self-discipline comes close with will as it depends on it greatly. It is important to align the evolution of this quality as it predetermines the result. An educator should create a special environment that will help his/her students to improve their self-discipline and power of will.
Teaching process implies that a child accomplishes the majority of tasks using cut and try method. That is why the probability of error is extremely high. However, an educator should not interfere and prevent a child from making mistakes. He should align the monitoring of a childs activity to know the way which results in this very mistake and be ready to help in case there is no signs of improvement. Under this conditions, a child should be explained some mistakes in his/her cognitive processes to be able to avoid them in the future.
Preparation of an individual for real life challenges is one of the main schools tasks. For this reason, it is oriented on the acquisition of real-life experiences that will help a person to survive and become a successful member of the coherent society. At the same time, exercises performed by a child in his/her life also help in studying. According to Montessori ideas, practical skills prepare a child for work in all curriculum areas as they condition positive outcomes and improve the comprehension of the most important issues which appear in teaching process (The Montessori Teacher and Her Role: Learning More About The Method, n.d.).
Montessori states the great role directress should play in her classroom. It is one of two essential elements that should be minded while working. The directresss role is to observe, monitor, and prepare the environment needed for the further evolution and growth. However, directness should not only train but prepare himself/herself for classes to be able to create the needed environment and assure that a child will have an opportunity to acquire new skills and experiences. That is why, this very role becomes crucial in terms of the approach suggested by Montessori.
References
Five Montessori Focus Areas. (n.d.). Web.
Hendron. R. (2011). The absorbent mind. Web.
Hilson, P. (1982). Montessoris concept of the spiritual embryo.
Maria Montessori Biography. (2016). Web.
The Montessori Teacher and Her Role: Learning More About The Method. (n.d.). Web.
The Process of Normalization. (n.d.). Web.
What is the absorbent mind & sensitive periods? (n.d.). Web.